Secret Machines

Huge drums and blinding arc lights – those are two most memorable things (okay, the music is pretty special too) you’ll take away from a Secret Machines show. Originally a trio of Josh Garza (those drums) and brothers Brandon and the now sadly deceased Benjamin Curtis, the NYC-via-Dallas trio came to prominence with the pounding psychedelic glory of their debut album Now Here Is Nowhere in 2004. Meandering tracks mixed with punchy shorter songs to create a brilliant record that didn’t really sound like much else around at the time. Not long after the release of the second album Ten Silver Drops, a more concise version of the Secret Machines sound, Benjamin Curtis left to concentrate on School of Seven Bells. Live, though, the band’s power didn’t wane despite Ben’s absence. While the ambient and atmospheric passages of music that show off the skill of the men onstage are lovely, it’s the moment the trio launch into the drums and riffing that you really get an idea of how good Secret Machines can be: the Led Zep style drum assault of ‘Sad and Lonely’ is always a highlight, but it’s matched by the hazy and shoegazy melodies of ‘Alone, Jealous and Stoned’ and by the epic build-and-release of ‘First Wave Intact’ which collapses under the weight of one guitar barrage after another in its role as long-time set closer. It’s hard to say what the future is for the band, but if they return to the stage I have little doubt their power won’t have dimmed in the slightest.